Type piece fixing device for high speed belt printer



July 28, 1964 RENTARO sAsAKi TYPE PIECE FIXING DEVICE FOR HIGH SPEED BELT PRINTER Filed July 17, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR HEN THRO 6059K! w gwraaat KM ATTORNEYS July 28, 1964 RENTA'RO SASAKI TYPE PIECE FIXING DEVICE FOR HIGH BELT PRINTER Filed July 17,, .1952

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 NA f/ H INVENTOR RENT/Mo SA sAK/ BY T/M ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,142,249 TYPE PECE FIXING DEVICE FOR HIGH SPEED BELT PRINTER Rental-o Sasalri, Takasaki, Japan, assignor to Oki Electric Industry Company Limited, Tokyo, Japan, a Japanese corporation Filed July 17, 1962, Ser. No. 210,516 Claims priority, application Japan July 20, 1961 2 Claims. (Cl. 101-111) This invention relates to type piece holding devices for high speed printing machines.

More particularly the present invention relates to a type piece holding device provided on a rotary belt used in a high speed printing machine such as is described in US. Patent No. 3,012,499.

In this kind of high speed printer, information corresponding to a line of type can be printed under the control of an electric computer and an associated memory device, the printer being of a kind equipped with a number of hammers and electromagnets corresponding to the number of type pieces in a line. The hammers strike recording paper against the type piece in order to make printed impressions on paper. The type pieces have a rotary motion due to a rotating endless belt and printing can be effected by operating these hammers and electro-magnets by synchronizing signals co-ordinated with the speed of the rotation of the types. Such printer can print a line of characters during one rotation of the endless band.

An object of the present invention is to provide a guide for the corner part of a fixing piece for type pieces fixed to the endless belt in the above mentioned high speed printer so that breakages by the striking of the hammer may be prevented.

Another object of the present invention is to project legs from the type fixture and extend them to a type stand so that the impact of the hammer may be absorbed by the type stand.

A further object of the present invention is to make the type piece easily detachable from the endless belt.

FIGURE 1 in the drawings, is a vertical sectional View of a type piece holding device according to the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is an elevation view, partly in section on the line 22 of FIG. 1, of a part of the device of the present invention.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is an elevation view of a C-shaped pin.

FIGURE 5 is a view, similar to FIG. 1, showing a modification of the device according to the present invention.

With reference to the drawings, 1 is a type stand mounted on a high speed printer. A guide 2 projects from the type stand 1. An endless belt 3 is arranged in the guide 2. A type piece 4 is secured to the front of a type holding piece 7 which is fixed to the endless belt 3. A hammer 5 is provided in front of the type piece 4. A recording sheet 6 and an inked ribbon 25 are arranged between the hammer 5 and the type piece 4.

In attaching the type holding piece 7 to the endless belt 3, two legs 8 and 9 project from the type holding piece 7 and pass through a pair of holes 8 and 9 the endless belt 3 so that their ends are in contact with the inside surface 19 of the type stand 1. Vertical through holes 11 3,142,249 Patented July 28, 1964 and 12 are provided in the middle parts of said legs 8 and 9, respectively, and the tubular collar or sleeve 13 extends between legs 8 and 9 in alignment with holes 11 and 12. A hollow shaft 14 is inserted through collar 13. Both ends 16 and 17 of a C-shaped pin 15, such as is shown in FIGURE 4, are inserted into both ends of the hollow shaft 14 in order to prevent the hollow shaft 14 from sliding out when fixing the legs 8 and 9 of the type fixing piece 7 to the endless belt 3. As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the C-shaped pins 15 are arranged as to pass through the legs of the adjacent type holding pieces in turn.

The guide 2, fixed to the type stand 1, has projections 18 and 19 extending in directions parallel with the edges of the endless belt 3 so that both upper and lower edges of the type holding piece 7 may be closely restrained against outward movement by projections 18 and 19. Therefore, the type holding piece 7 can move smoothly with out any backlash in the space 20 formed by the type stand 1 and the guide 2.

In the device according to the present invention, when the endless belt 3 rotates at a high speed, selected type pieces 4 on the type holding pieces 7, fixed to the endless belt 3, are struck by the hammer 5 and a permanent recording is made on the recording sheet 6 through the inked ribbon 25 and the impact will be absorbed by the type stand 1. At the same time the sidewise movement (toward the right in FIG. 1) of the type holding piece 7 will be impeded by the projections 8 and 9. Therefore the impact of the hammer 5 will not be directly applied to the endless belt 3 and breakages of the endless belt 3 will be substantially reduced. As the vertical through holes 11 and 12 are made in the legs of the type fixing piece 7 and the C-shaped pin 15 can be removably inserted into these holes, the type pieces 4 are easy to replace.

The embodiment shown in FIGURE 5 is a modification of the device of the present invention. In this embodiment, the projections 21 and 22 of the guides 2, fixed to the type stand 1, are each bifurcated to provide the slots 23 and 24 so that both edges of the type fixing piece 7 may be inserted through the slots 23 and 24. The other parts of the structure are all the same as of the embodiment explained with reference to FIGURE 1. By such an arrangement, the impact of the hammer 5 on the type piece 4 and the damage of the endless belt 3 can be further reduced.

What is claimed is:

l. A type piece holding device for high speed printers including a rotatable endless band having a plurality of pairs of holes therethrough, comprising: a type stand; a guide member fastened to said type stand and having two spaced-apart protrusions extending outwardly from said type stand, each said protrusion having a projection thereon, said projections extending toward each other and defining a gap therebetween, said extending projections, protrusions and type stand defining a channel space in communication with said gap, a strip portion of said endless band being arranged to pass through said channel space; a type holder having a type piece affixed to one side thereof and a pair of spaced apart legs extending from an opposite side thereof, said pairs of legs extending through a pair of holes in an endless band and abutting against said type stand, each said leg having an aperture therea) through; a hollow collar extending between said legs and extending into said apertures; and, a resilient C-shaped pin having its ends inserted into the ends of said hollow collar to retain said type holder on said endless band.

2. A type piece holding device according to claim 1, in which said extending projections from said protrusions are provided with slots and wherein said type holder includes oppositely disposed projecting portions adapted for being loosely fitted in said slots.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Smith Oct. 30, 1923 Shomaker Sept. 18, 1934 Meyers Dec. 23, 1941 Amada Dec. 12, 1961 Simpson et al. July 3, 1962 Sasaki July 3, 1962 

1. A TYPE PIECE HOLDING DEVICE FOR HIGH SPEED PRINTERS INCLUDING A ROTATABLE ENDLESS BAND HAVING A PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF HOLES THERETHROUGH, COMPRISING: A TYPE STAND; A GUIDE MEMBER FASTENED TO SAID TYPE STAND AND HAVING TWO SPACED-APART PROTRUSIONS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID TYPE STAND, EACH SAID PROTRUSION HAVING A PROJECTION THEREON, SAID PROJECTIONS EXTENDING TOWARD EACH OTHER AND DEFINING A GAP THEREBETWEEN, SAID EXTENDING PROJECTIONS, PROTRUSIONS AND TYPE STAND DEFINING A CHANNEL SPACE IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID GAP, A STRIP PORTION OF SAID ENDLESS BAND BEING ARRANGED TO PASS THROUGH SAID CHANNEL SPACE; A TYPE HOLDER HAVING A TYPE PIECE AFFIXED TO ONE SIDE THEREOF AND A PAIR OF SPACED APART LEGS EXTENDING FROM AN OPPOSITE SIDE THEREOF, SAID PAIRS OF LEGS EXTENDING THROUGH A PAIR OF HOLES IN AN ENDLESS BAND AND ABUTTING AGAINST SAID TYPE STAND, EACH SAID LEG HAVING AN APERTURE THERETHROUGH; A HOLLOW COLLAR EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID LEGS AND EXTENDING INTO SAID APERTURES; AND, A RESILIENT C-SHAPED PIN HAVING ITS ENDS INSERTED INTO THE ENDS OF SAID HOLLOW COLLAR TO RETAIN SAID TYPE HOLDER ON SAID ENDLESS BAND. 